Tara Tall Fescue
A cool-season turfgrass with superior performance under extreme summer stress.
Tara Tall Fescue is a synthetic cultivar developed for improved performance under heat, drought and brown patch. Tara is recommended for use in cases of water restriction, high heat or disease pressure.
Key Characteristics
- Top performer against brown patch
- High tolerance to heat and drought stress
- Performs well in transition zone of U.S.
Heat and Drought Stress Tolerance
Turf plots of Tara Tall Fescue were established in 2015 by Dr. Grady Miller at the Lake Wheeler Road Field Laboratory in Raleigh, NC. in a replicated trial. In this trial, Tara compared favorably against commercial checks on measures such as color, coverage, seed vigor, texture and density. Tara stands out for its ratings for infrared canopy temperature and brown patch.
Tara shows high leaf water potential and low levels of leaf death and desiccation, which means that it does a better job of extracting available water from the soil and maintaining moisture levels in the leaf tissue. Tara therefore tolerates both heat and drought stress with minimal sacrifice in turf quality.
Cultivar Development
In 2009, 305 tall fescue families were obtained by Dr. Virginia Lehman
of Blue Moon Farms in Lebanon, OR. These materials originated as progenies of advanced polycrosses selected for seed yield and stem rust resistance in Oregon for the
previous 12 years. After two cycles of recurrent selection for moisture stress at the Sandhills Research Station in Jackson Springs, NC and stem rust resistance at Blue
Moon Farms, 24 families were selected for further evaluations.
In 2013 and 2014, drought stress tests were performed on the 24 selected families and compared to several commercial grasses (Kentucky 31, Bulldog, Rebel II and Rebel IV). Four families from those tests were selected for their superior performance relative to turf quality, resistance to drought and yield traits. Seed from these families was bulked together to produce a synthetic experimental designated as Tara Tall Fescue.
